Vehicle-body support



Dec. 13, 1927.

w. D. HARPER VEHICLE BODY SUPPORT Filed Nov. 6, 1923 W//w/ W Patented Dec. 13, 1927.

PATE-NT OFFICE.

WILLIAM HARPER, F WALTHAM, 'MLASSACHUSEIITS.r`

VEHICLE-BODY SUPPORT.

Application led November 6, 1923. Serial No. 673,052.

This invention relates to means for mountvingI the bodies of automobiles, trailers or similar vehicles upon supporting frames in such ina-nner as to relieve the bodyand its load of a substantial portion of the effects ofshocks or stresses to which they vehicle may be subjected 'in ordinary road usage, and consistsy in improvements designed to supply a simplified and eicient form of such mounting. p

The invention will be best understood by reference to the following description, when taken in vconnection 'with the accompanying illustration of one specific embodiment thereof, while its scope will be more articularly pointed out in the appendedv c aims.

Fig. l is a side elevation showing, by way of illustration, a motor .bus equipped witi one form of the invention;

2 is a plan view, partly broken away, showing detailsl of one' of the supportingunits lemployed between the vehicle body and the chassis; p l

Fimv3 isy a transverse sectional elevation showing the supporting unit illustrated in Fig. 2 and its relation to the chassis and the body; ,4

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional elevation 'showing theysame parts; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation taken through ythe lower cup bearing for one of the supporting units showing the same onan enlarged scale and illustrating the variation in curvature.

Referring to the drawings, I have theref shown for illustrative purposes tlie` details of onespecic embodiment of the invention as applied to an automobile road vehicle, herein a passenger bus, b ut the invention may be applied, 1n greatly modied form, to vehicles of various types and widely diffet-ent constructions. Herein the vehicle has the body 11 supported on the chassis frame 13, thelatter being resiliently supported by meansof the springs 15 on the wheels 17. The vehicle is providedl with the usual means for self propulsion (not herein shown), so that the body and the load caro .ried thereby may be propelled through a force or drawbar 'pull applied to the chassis and fromthe chassis by the supporting connections hereinafter described.

' In the illustrative embodiment of the in` `that frame.

vention the bod is supported on'the chassis frame through t e provision of a number of supporting units interposed between the chassis and the body, these units bein disposed alongv opposite side-s of the c assis -frame and carried by the side members of Each unit herein comprisesa bearing support.member 21 securedto the chassis frame and a cooperating bearing rest member 23 secured to the body 11, the two members of each unit being located opposite to one another and so associated asto permit the bodyeconnected, bearin member to move laterally over and on the aring support member` either directly or, as herein, indirectly through the interpositioi of suitable anti-friction rolling members.

rlhese cooperating bearing parts ma constructed in various ways, but herein a simple form of ball bearing is shown having the spherical bearing ball 25, while the lower and upper bearin members 21 and 23 respectively are in t e form of oppositely disposed upright and inverted cup shaped races having similar concavities generally spherical in contour but of a radius of curvature greater'than the radius of the ball 25. It

follows that when the body-connected bear,-k `ing race 25 is moved laterally in any direction from its normal position at rest, or that in which the ball seats inthe deepest parts of the two concavities, the ball rides up the side of the conoavity of the bearing support 21 and the bearing member 23 rides up the ball, so that, tovether with the vehicle body, the member 23 lhas imparted to it a substantial lift or rising movement.

In the preferred form, as illustrated more in detail in Fig. 5, the bearing surface of each cup is formed with a lesser radius vof curvature 27 in its outer portion and'with a relatively larger radius of curvature 29 in its central portion. Under these conditions initial displacement of the body takes place readily or with relatively little lift, but, with greater lateral displacement, the bod meets with an increasing check as the bal encounters the more sharply curved portions -of the body and the lift rapidly increases. f

A plurality of such sup rting units is shown interposed between t e bod and the chassis, the number varying with t e weight to be carried and the dimensions of Athe other s rigidly secured to the latera parts. The several units are preferably similar in construction and contour and are solocated as to have the axial lines of opposing bearing cups in coincidence when the body is in its normal position of rest with respect to the chassis, or the position as-' sumed when the chassis is stationary and the wheel base level, with the bearing ball engaging the bottom of the concavity of each cup. There is preferably provided three or more such units, a series being herein shown on each side of the chassis frame, with the body connected bearing rests, comprisin the inverted cups 23, secured in a rigid an unvarying relation to the underside of the body, and a similar series of opposed cup bearing supports 21 secured in rigid and unvarying relation to the chassis frame, the latter being arranged to align and cooperate with the bearing members 23 and the interposed balls 25.

`Referring first to the bearing support members 21, the latter are herein shown each carried u on a bracketsecured at the appropriate pomt to the side of the chassis frame, said bracket comprising the supporting plate or shelf- 31 provided with the two upright triangular brace arms 33 and the face late 35 having the lip or flange 37 which 1s adapted to overlap the top of the chassis frame,permitting the bracket to be readily secured to the chassis frame by any suitable means, such as the bolts 39 passing through the face plate. The bearin support 21 is shelf 31 of the bracket, as by the rivets 41 passing through the shelf and through oppositely arranged lugs 43 extending from the side of the bearing support.. The inverted cup or bearing rest 23, which may be a du licate of the bearing support 21, is similar y attached by means of rivets 45 to a plate 47, the latter secured, as by the bolts 49, to the underside of a body member, such as the transverse floor su port 51, the latter forming a part of the bo y frame and projecting laterally slightly eyond the chassis frame while at the same time extending above the same with a relatively sli ht clearance. In the case of a body provi ed at each side with a. Stringer late extending longitudinall beneath the dy, as, for example, beneat the transverse floor support 51, the plate 47 may be secured direct y to such Stringer late instead of to the transverse floor mem er.

With the arts assembled and the body mounted on t e chassis through the series of supporting units described, when the chassis is at' rest and in a substantially horizontal position, the parts occupy substantially the position shownin Fig. 3. When the vehicle isin operation, however, any change in the the rate or direction of motion,` either .in starting from a pos1t1on of rest or increas ing or diminishing the speed or in turning a corner or encountering obstacles, will tend to move the body and its load laterally under lateral displacing forces arising from the momentum and inertia of the body and its load, but the shocks consequent of Such diS- placing forces will be checked, absorbed or minimized by the simultaneous lifting movement of the body and its load which is enforced by the lateral displacing movement of the upper raceway on the lower one. The weight of the body and its load tends at all times to bring the arts to their normal positionsof rest, the ody settling back to its normalposition as soon as the lateral displacing forces cease or diminish. The parts will be preferably so shaped as to take care of shocks and stresses met with in ordinary conditions of use. Preferably, however, the connections present some means to limit the amount of lateral and lifting movement so that the body cannot be unseated from the chassis by abnormal shocks or stresses. In the illustrated form of the invention this is readily accomplished by forming the plate 47 in the shape of a U so as to present a wall or part 53 underlying the shelf 31 with a. suic-ient clearance in the normal position at rest to allow the necessary lift of the body, but preventing (through engagement with the underside ofthe shelf) any abnormal lift beyond that point.`

Each of the bearin units is preferably provided with means or excluding dust 0r other foreign matter from the bearings, such, for example, as the dust plate 55, consisting of a disk centrally perforated to drop over the ball 25 and rest on the flat face of the race 2l with sufficient overlap to cover the concave surface of the bearing support as the disk moves from side to side with the movement of the ball.

The supporting brackets not only provide a rigid unyielding support for their respective supporting units which can be applied to the sides of the chassis frame with great facilityhbut, by bringin the support for the supportlng unit below t e level of the top of the chassis frame, a clearance between the chassis frame and', the overlying part of the body may be minimized and be made substantially less than the height of the supporting unit, and the bod dropped to a substantially lower level. n the illustrated form of the invention the parts constitutin the supporting unit may be made strong an substantial Without adding anything to the total heiight of the vehicle, except what slight c earance ma be desired between the chassis frame and t e body.

While I have herein shown for the purposes of illustration one* specific embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the same is not limited to the details and changes in Ythe form yand relative arrangementof parts may be made, all without-departing from the spirit thereof.

Claims: l. In a road vehicle, the combination with a vehicle body, of a chassis frame compris- -ing opposite longitudinal side members,

i having'a concaved, cup-shaped bearing rest rigidly secured to the under side of the body, al complementary bearing seat secured to the `chassis with an interposed ball member of lesser size than the size of the concavities of said cups and arranged to move about therein, said cup members presenting y inclined surfaces over' which the ball may ride on a relativemovement of the bearing cups in any direction, either fore and aft or,later ally, whereby movement of the body from its normal position in any horizontal direction relativeto the chassis is accompanied by a consequent equal lift of all parts of the body in the course of such movement, said bearing seats being rigidly related to the chassis frame and supported below the level of the top of the chassis frame and the supporting units having a height greater than that of the clearance between the chassis frame and the overlying body member, whereby a universal, lateral vlift support may be provided on the chassis permitting the movement of the body with a minimum clearance and a minimum heightyfor the center of gravity thereof.

2. In a road vehicle, the combination with a vehicle body, of a chassis frame comprising opposite longitudinal side members, means for supporting the body with a slight clearance above the chassis frame While permitting the movement of the body horizontally in all directions with relation thereto, the same comprising a series of spaced spporting units disposed at different points between the body and the frame, each unit having a concaved, cup-shaped bearing rest rigidly related to the under side of a body member, a bed plate secured to the bearing rest and fastened to the under side of the body member, the`latter overlying and extending beyond the sides of the chassis frame, a complementary bearing seat rigidly related to the chassis, a supporting plate on which the bearing seat is rigidly secured, said plate being fastened to the side of the chassis frame and below the top thereof, an

interposed ball member of lesser size than the sizeof the concavities of said cups and arranged to move about therein, said cup members presenting inclined surfaces over which the ball may ride onv a relative movement of the bearing cups in any direction, either fore and aft or laterally, whereby movement of the body from its normal position in any horizontal direction relative to the chassis is accompanied by a consequent lequallift of all parts of the body in the course of such movement, the supporting unit having a height greater than that of the clearance between the chassis frame and the overlying body member, and a limiting device rigidly related to the bedplate and extending down and in engaging relation to the underlying supporting plate but with a slight clearance in the normal position of the body, said limiting device being so related to the supporting plate that before the body can lift to permit the unseating of the b all from its bearing seat, the limiting device is brought into operation.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specication. Y c

WILLIAM D. HARPER. 

